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L. T. WEISS. DOOR HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. 1 919.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT onmon.

LOUIS T. WEISS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO RELIANCE-GRANT ELEVATOREQUIPMENT CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DOOR-HANGER.

Application filed January 25, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis T. l/Vmss, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Door-Hangers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to means for hanging laterally movable doors andother closures, and particularly to hangers of that type embodyingrelatively sliding members, one serving as a stationary track and theother as a sliding support movable in or upon said track and from whichthe door is hung, combined with antifriction bearings interposed betweensaid members to secure a free and easy relatively sliding motionthereof.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improvedtype of ball spacer for a hanger of the class described, with means forretaining said spacer in working position and preventing its disengagement or displacement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide simple, reliableand efiicient means, cooperating with the ball spacer and the bearingballs, to center the sliding memher and maintain it in proper relativeposition with respect to thestationary member, thus preventing relativetilting or canting of the parts or binding of the balls and securing adesirable and eflicient antifriction bearing action.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination andarrangement of: parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure ,1 is afragmentary sectional perspective view of a door hanger embodying myinvention, with a portion of the hanger bar broken away to show theinterior construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the hanger, showing aslightly different arrangement of the ball carrier.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one form of the ball spacer employed.

Fi 4c is a top plan view of the hanger bar iowing one arrangement ofcentering devices which may be used.

Fig. 5 is a 311111131 view of the hanger bar showing an instance ofanother arrange Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Serial No. 273,119.

signed in practice to be fastened in the de sired supporting position inany preferred manner, while the member 2 forms a sup port for the doorand from which the door is hung for sliding opening and closing motions.

The hollow track member 1 is formed of a continuous, side wall 3, a topwall 4, a

short opposite side wall 5, and a bottom wall or flange 6, the latterextending horizontally from the lower edge of the wall 3. The wall 5 isof comparatively short depth, terminating a short distance below the topor crown wall 4, whereby a slot or opening 7 is formed between the sameand the bottom wall 6 through which one; side of the sliding bar isexposed for the attachment thereto of the brackets or fastening meansemployed for hanging the door therefrom.

The sliding bar 2 is of materially less depth than the interior of the.hollow track member 1, and said bar has a sliding and antifrictionbearing engagement at its lower edge with the bottom wall 6 of the trackmember. As shown in the present in. stance the bar is provided in itslower face with a" longitudinal groove or raceway 8, while the wall 6 isstamped up or offset to provide a cooperating ball groove or raceway 9,a row or series of antifriction bearing balls 10 being provided forengagement with said raceways, thus forming an antifriction bearingsupport for the hanger bar.

Thev antifriction balls 10 are arranged at suitable intervals apart. andare fitted within retaining openings 11 in a ball spacer 12. This ballspacer 12 consists of a'metal plate disposed horizontally andlongitudinally between the bearing surfaces of the track and bar andmounted for a predetermined slidin g movement in any preferred mannerwith the bar 2 in its opposite travels, thus allowing the bar to havefree and easy backward and forward movements with a minimum degree offriction and resistance at the points where the greatest pressures andstrains come upon the parts of the hanger from the weight of thesuspended door. The retaining openings 11 are of a diameter slightlylarger than the diameter of the balls to permit the balls to turn freelytherein, and to roll in contact with the surfaces of the raceways, whileretaining the balls in position against any possibility of displacement.The arrangement may be such that the ball spacer plate 12 may slide infrictional contact with the surfaces 13 and 14, of the wall 6 atopposite sides of the raceway 9, as shown in Fig. 1, or said spacerplate may be disposed so as to be elevated slightly above said surfacesand normally travel out of contact therewith, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

For the purpose of retaining the spacer plate 12 in proper workingposition and holding it from upward movement or dis placement undershocks or jars falling upon the door structure, means of a novelcharacter is provided for engagement with an external portion of thetrack member 1 for maintaining the plate in working position whilepermitting it to slide freely in its movements. This means consists ofone or more retaining flanges or members projecting outwardly from therelatively outer edge of the spacer plate through the slot or opening 9and arranged to bear against the underside of the track 6 wherebyupward. movement of the spacer plate will be prevented. In the form ofretaining means shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for the purpose described, theretainer consists of a flange formed of a plurality of separatedportions 15 arranged at proper intervals and extending downwardly at anangle from the outer edge of the plate and thence bent under the wall 6to provide portions 16 engaging said wall to hold the plate from upwardmovement and maintain its normal disposition and path of travel. In Fig.6 the retaining flange 15' is shown as extending continuously along theouter edge of the ball spacer plate and having a portion 16, which maybe continuous or otherwise, to serve the same function as the portion16. It is, therefore, to be understood that the angular retainingflange, constructed and arranged as described, may be either continuous,or formed of a single element, or of an interrupted character, that is,formed of a series of separated portions, and that these and otherequivalent constructions for the purpose are held to fall within theterms retaining means or retaining flange, as set forth in the claims,except where a particular construction is specifically defined.

The upper edge of the bar 2 may terminate below the top wall 4 of thehollow track member 1, substantially coincident with the horizontalplane of the lower edge of the short wall 5, and suitable means may beprovided upon the bar and within the superposed head portion of thehollow track member for centering the bar and holding it from tilting orcanting. To this end, the bar 2 may be provided at or adjacent to itsends, 01: at suitably separated points, with horizontally disposedrevoluble centering members 17, mounted to revolve upon verti cal axes18, and having rounded peripheries projecting equally beyond oppositesides of the door to engage and travel. as well as revolve in grooves orraceways 19 formed in the opposed portions of the walls 3 and 5 of thehollow track member 1. These revoluble disks will hold the upper portionof the bar steady and from tilting motion in any direction, and willcooperate with the antifriction bearing construction between the bot-tomportions of the bar and hollow track to prevent displacement of the barfrom its normal working position. It will, of course, be understood thatthe revoluble disks will also serve as stops to prevent the bar 2 fromjumping under shocks or jars out of engagement with the antifrictionbearing balls. The arrangement of the revoluble retaining members may bevaried in many respects, one instance of which is shown in Fig. 5,wherein the outer disks 17 are illustrated projecting peripherallybeyond one side of the bar only for engagement with the groove in oneside of the track and an intermediate disk 17 is employed and projectsbeyond the opposite side of the bar for engagement with the groove inthe opposite side wall of the track, the dotted lines in Fig. 6 showingequalizing lines of strain passing through the axes of the disks,relative to the longitudinal center line of the bar, whereby the strainsare equally distributed and the bar steadily maintained in a normallyvertical position.

It will be seen that by the constructions described simple and effectivemeans for retaining the ball spacer in proper working position and forholding the bar against displacement are disclosed, and a type of hangerproduced which is free from a complication of parts and may beeconomically manufactured. It is to be understood, of course, that whilethe hanger member 1 is described as the fixed member and the member 2the sliding door supporting member, this condition may be reversedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, that is tosay, that the door may be suspended from the member 1 which will travelupon the member 2, which in this case will be fixedly secured in thedesired position.

Having thus fully described my inven-. tion, I claim 1. In a doorhanger, relatively fixed and sliding members, one inclosing the other,the inclosing member having a slot in a wall thereof, antifrictionbearing balls between opposed surfaces of said members, a spacerdisposed between said opposed surfaces and having openings through whichthe balls project, and a. retaining means upon said spacer extendingthrough said slot and engaging an external siuface of the inclosingmember to hold said spacer against displacement.

2. In a door hanger, a hollow track memher having a side opening and abottom wall provided with a raceway, a bar slidable in said hollow trackmember and having a cooperating raceway in its lower face, antifrictionballs disposed in said raceways, a ball spacer plate disposed betweenthe hearing surfaces of the track and bar and provided with openingsthrough which the balls project, and a retaining means upon the plateprojecting beneath the bottom wall of the hollow track member andholding said spacer plate against upward displacement.

3. In a door hanger, a hollow track member having a side opening and abottom wall, the latter provided with a raceway, a bar slidably mountedin the hollow track member and having a cooperating racewayin its lowerface, antifriction bearing balls engaging said .raceways, a ball spacerplate disposed between the bearing surfaces of the hollow track memberand bar and having openings through which the balls extend,

and projecting means upon one longitudinal edge of said spacer plateextending outwardly through said side opening and engaging beneath thebottom wall of the hollow track member to hold said ball carrier platefrom upward displacement.

4c. In a door hanger, a hollow track member having a side opening and abottom wall, the latter provided with a raceway, a bar slidable in thehollow track member and having its lower surface provided with acooperating raceway, antifriction balls engaging s'aid raceways, a ballspacer plate disposed between the bearing surfaces of the hollow trackmember and bar and having openings receiving the balls and through whichsaid balls extend, and a retaining flange upon the outer edge of saidplate projecting externally through the side opening in the hollow trackmember and beneath the bottom wall thereof and engaging said bottom wall"to hold the spacer plate from upward displacement.

5. In a door hanger, the combination of a hollow track member havingopposed side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall, one of said side wallshaving its lower portion cut away to form a slot, the upper portions ofthe side walls being provided with longitudinal grooves and the bottomwall also being provided with a longitudinal groove, a bar slidable inthe hollow track member and having its lower surface provided with agroove for cooperation with the groove in the bottom wall of the hollowtrack member, antifriction bearing balls engaging said cooperatinggrooves, a retainer having openings receiving the balls and providedwith means projecting through the slot in the hollow track member andengaging the underside of the bottom wall to hold said retainer fromupward displacement, and disks revolubly mounted upon the upper edge ofthe bar and having peripheral portions engaging the grooves in the upperportions of the side walls of the hollow track memher.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature LOUIS T. WEISS.

